Global Cadillac Sales Up 15.5 Percent To 37,310 Units In December 2016

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Global sales of new Cadillac vehicles totaled 37,310 units in December 2016, an increase of 15.5 percent year-over-year, marking the seventh consecutive month of double-digit percentage increases for the brand.

“It was a stunning year for Cadillac’s global growth in 2016,” said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen. “Drawing more customers than any year in the past 30 is an excellent springboard for the robust product offensive from Cadillac in the coming years. While growing the business significantly and attracting a youthful and affluent demographic, we continue to elevate the aspirational character of the brand. We see this in a very rich model mix, with discerning customers opting for top models with very high specifications, driving up average transaction prices in the process.”

December 2016 Cadillac Sales By Model

Unlike in the first 10 months of 2016, Cadillac did not provide sales by model in December. It did, however, provide the following sales figures:

The all-new XT5 midsize crossover had its highest sales since launch. In fact, sales in the midsize luxury crossover category, the industry’s strongest segment grew 29.1 percent in December.

Escalade sales rose 21.2 percent in December

XTS sales increased 14.7 percent in December

December 2016 Cadillac Sales By Market

Cadillac sales rose in its top three global markets in December, including the U.S., China and Canada. Sales in the Middle East and the Rest of the World decreased. It is worth noting that, unlike in the first 10 months of 2016, Cadillac did not provide individual sales figures for Mexico, Europe and South Korea, instead including sales for those markets in the single ROW (Rest of World) line item.

Cadillac sales in the United States increased 3.2 percent to 21,446 units

Cadillac sales in China increased 45.4 percent to 13,400 units, marking a record year for the brand in the market

Cadillac sales in Canada increased 23.1 percent to 1,347 units

Cadillac sales in the Middle East decreased 15.2 percent to 448 units

Cadillac sales in all other regions (ROW, or Rest of World) decreased 1.8 percent to 669 units

Sales Results - Cadillac - December 2016 - Global - By Market

Market

December 2016 / December 2015

December 2016

December 2015

YTD 2016 / YTD 2015

YTD 2016

YTD 2015

Total

+15.5%

37,310

32,304

+11.1%

308,692

277,857

United States

+3.2%

21,446

20,787

-3%

170,006

175,267

China

+45.4%

13,400

9,214

+45.9%

116,406

79,779

Canada

+23.1%

1,347

1,094

-0.7%

12,162

12,249

Middle East

-15.2%

448

528

-17.8%

4,220

5,136

ROW

-1.8%

669

681

+8.7%

5,898

5,426

Average Transaction Prices

Cadillac’s growth included a continuation in its trend of attaining higher brand prestige alongside volume growth. The brand’s average transaction price in the U.S. market reached the highest level ever: $53,796 per unit, according to the J.D. Power Information Network (PIN).

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16 Comments

Very good results overall but without the Chinese market Cadillac would be in real trouble as a stand-alone division.
Maybe that’s a little over exagerated but what is not is the importance of the Chinese market to Cadillac.

2017 will continue to be a struggle for N.A. and other markets but the Chinese market should continue to be strong barring a trade war between the U.S. and China.

Even if there were a grand total of zero Cadillacs sold in China, Cadillac would be doing very well with its 170,000 units sold in the U.S. during calendar year 2016, as U.S. operations are highly profitable.

Here’s why:

1. All Cadillac vehicles currently on sale carry much higher margins than their Chevrolet counterparts, for instance.

2. Compare Cadillac sales performance to those of, say, Jaguar Land Rover, whose U.S. sales volume (during a lucky year) are just a fifth of Cadillac’s. Even at that teensy sales volume, JLR is still highly profitable, to the tune of 1.56 billion pounds sterling (2 billion USD), in their most recent fiscal year 2015/2016.

3. Back to why Cadillac is actually just fine if it sold zero cars in China: though Chinese sales volumes are high, profitability is extremely low. Then you add in the fact that all profit made by GM in China must be split evenly with its SAIC joint venture/partner, cutting profitability down by half. Add in the fact that Cadillac’s manufacturing and supply base for China is completely different for North America — meaning that there are little economies of scale to be realized by boosting sales in China for the rest of Cadillac’s manufacturing/supply chain ops, and you get an even less profitable venture in China.

So, all in all, Cadillac would still be successful and profitable if it sold zero cars in China in 2016. However, some money is better than no money, and it is worth noting that, in order for Cadillac to be seen as a serious player in the prestige-luxury space, it’s vital for it to continue expanding to other markets around the world… but to say that Cadillac “would be in real trouble” without the Chinese market is highly inaccurate.

To clarify: fleet sales are ok, as they are capable of carrying decent profit, depending on how they are structured. What is not desirable and not ok are fleet sales to rental car firms, which carry almost no profit (or sometimes even a loss) and work to degrade a model’s resale value once the rental firm is finished with it.

Once again I would temper JDN’s crowing about the fantastic ATPS. We all know the biggest impact is the Escalade and it is a vehicle that really didn’t initially fit with his program.

The most recent ATP information I could find on Escalades was $81,251 for regular Escalade and $85,028 for extended. With that being said, I remember reading in Automotive News after the above the figures were $83,000 and $86,000, but couldn’t locate the actual article.

Nevertheless, extracting the Escalades from the ATP pool yields 15,974 vehicles in December with an average ATP of $48,143. If that translates into a lot of highly optioned vehicles I’m missing something. The starting price for the XTS is $45,595; CT6 $53,795; CTS $45,560; XT5 $39,395; and ATS $34,595.

Yea, it is an all time record–thank heavens for the Escalade, a guised up Tahoe!

Martin – I’m curious to find out what you mean by “his program” in reference to JdN.

From what I know, “his program” is to build this mis-managed-for-decades and, as a result, damaged brand into a respected global luxury player that sells more cars and is even more profitable than it is now. The Escalade contributes to doing just that, though — as you are well aware, the whole brand can’t be about the Escalade.

Now, assuming your calculations are correct and Cadillac’s ATP with Escalade stripped out is $48,143, that would put it close to BMW’s ATP of $50,871 (in March 2016, the most recent BMW ATP data I could find). Not bad for a brand that had to weather 30 years’ worth of piss-poor management and even worse products, along with associated drains in sales volume, image and desirability… things that BMW never faced.

The Escalade is not the sporting vehicle nor is it the attraction to the young, but it sure as heck is paying the bills!

Alex, as responded to you on an earlier similar post I hate bs. Stating customers are clamoring for highly optioned vehicles is not what I’m seeing! State what the situation is!

Don’t believe it is fair to compare Cadillac’s ATP directly to BMWs without further explanation. I would venture to say BMWs is weighted dramatically by 3 series sales and that fact makes their $50k ATP all that more impressive.

Generally agree Martin but the Escalade IS an aspirational vehicle to young and old.
It is a cash cow but also they can take it further up the food chain as well.

ATP is a just one metric but it important. You are right that BMW and Mercedes ATP is weighed down by 1, 2 and 3 Series but also clear is that Cadillacs profitability per unit is higher.
I would still take BMW or Mercedes position of selling nearly 2x more vehicles than Cadillac over making a few thousand more per unit on a lower volume.

Martin – in relation to your comment regarding BS, I don’t think anyone is trying to pull a fast one on you… JdN, included

On to more important matters: sure, the Escalade is paying the bills… as is every single other model in the Cadillac lineup (ELR excluded). Some contribute more and others contribute less, but none are not contributing, or contributing negatively.

This is very good and very important to note, since Cadillac is just at the beginning of its turn-around, and therefore has a significant amount of growth potential… while BMW and Mercedes have already reached or close to reaching the pinnacle of their theoretical sales potential. So, within 5-10 years from now, it isn’t unreasonable that Cadillac sales volumes will grow significantly compared to current levels in the U.S. alone, while the same won’t be true of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus… at least not without continuing to go downmarket. And that’s just the U.S. market, as continuing to expand globally and in currently-untapped markets (Russia, Europe, South America, etc.) presents even more opportunity.

As for BMW’s ATPs — weighed down or not, the figure is what it is. That’s their strategy, which is obviously a factor it fully controls. Looking at ATP by itself is really not all that meaningful in the grand scheme of things. The 1 series and the 2 series are not weighing down the ATP much, since the 1 is not even sold here, while the 2 is sold, but in small volumes that aren’t enough to make an impact on the general ATP percentage. Plus, the 2 is priced at levels that are very close to the 3. It will be interesting to see how BMW’s upcoming FWD-based 1er replacement will impact ATPs and 3 series volume. It has yet to be announced for the U.S., but has already been announced for China.

As I mentioned previously, the most important point here is this: it is impressive that after decades of damage to the brand thanks to terrible products, Cadillac has now stabilized at a solid base, which consists of:
– Reasonable sales volume (and associated customer base)
– Decent ATP
This is a good starting point from which to grow and build to the levels currently experienced by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi.

I wouldn’t say that BMW totally controls the strategy for peddling lower series such as the 3 series whose sales obliterate the ATS! The market makes that determination and they have spoken loud and clear! Even with a much higher percentage of the low-priced vehicles, BMWs ATP is nearly $2K higher. That is what I would call a win-win for BMW. Sell a high volume of your cheaper vehicle highly optioned up.

Sure Cadillac is probably profitable but profits is not the primary topic of this article as presented. One of the major points was Cadillac buyers were ordering highly optioned vehicles and I don’t believe that can be true with an ATP less Escalade of $48k +. I really detest puffery–just another form of bs! I do not drink the Kool-Aid!

Just renting a CadillacXTS while my 2016 Buick La Cross in the body shop, someone dented it with a shopping cart, and I am NOT impressed…I had a 1995 and 1998 Buick LeSabre…a 2014 and 2015 Buick La Cross…..I like all of them BETTER than this Cadillac…